This simple summer salad is light, refreshing, and packed with chickpea protein. Enjoy as is or sprinkle with delicious and nutritious salad add-ons like goat cheese, feta, walnuts, or toasted pine nuts.
Low in calories yet high in vitamins and minerals, cucumbers are a win-win choice for most any summer salad.
It’s the end of a long summer day, one filled with dips in the cool river and time well spent relaxing in the shade (what, you had a day off). What better way to continue the refreshing and relaxing than to whip up an easy summer salad that’s nutritious, delicious, and a cinch to make?
This summer chickpea salad recipe yields one of the best summer salads I’ve had in a long time. And you know what I love most about it, aside from the nutrition it provides? It doesn’t quite “go bad” or wilt over the course of a few days, so you can make it ahead of time and then simply use parts of it throughout the week.
All you’ll need to do to change up the flavor profile a little is throw in some of your favorite salad add-ons. We’re talking chicken, toasted pine nuts, or feta. Walnuts, fresh greens, or shaved fennel. Whatever floats your salad boat.
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 bunches scallions, whites only, sliced
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
¼ cup white balsamic dressing
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste
And now for the simple steps it takes to create this easy summer salad! In a large bowl, add in the chickpeas, diced tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, and parsley. Next, toss in the zest, lemon juice, dressing, salt, and pepper.
Add in those chickpeas and you automatically up your fiber and protein intake while promoting fullness
That’s it! Now just put those feet back up and relax while you enjoy the cooling, refreshing, healthy benefits of this amazing summer chickpea salad.
Low in calories yet high in vitamins and minerals, cucumbers are a win-win choice for most any summer salad. From potassium, magnesium, and manganese, to vitamins K (62% of the RDI!) and C, cucumbers are packed with so much more than meets the eye.
The tomatoes in this lovely summer salad are also another great source of vitamins and minerals. Vitamin C, vitamin K, lycopene, and potassium all come together to help improve your vision, protect your heart, boost digestion, and so much more.
Anti-inflammatory and packed with antioxidants, parsley is an excellent addition to not only this sweet summer salad, but also to just about anything (smoothies, juices, pastas, and salads in general).
Add in those chickpeas and you automatically up your fiber and protein intake while promoting fullness (some studies have shown the fiber and protein of chickpeas to slow digestion and reduce appetite).
Thanks to their fiber and protein (plant-based), as well as their iron and calcium content, chickpeas (in this summer salad, or any salad you just can’t get enough of) also help support blood sugar control and bone health.
Wow, I could just go on about the health benefits of this amazing summer chickpea salad. But, as important as nutritional benefits are, they don’t mean much if what you’re eating isn’t palatable. Which is a roundabout way of saying: this summer salad is delicious—enjoy and tell me all about it!
Looking for other easy, healthy recipes from Mint Nutrition? Start here, and be sure to follow Mint Nutrition on Instagram for continued recipes, tips, and insight.
As a certified integrative and functional dietitian, it’s my job to come up with tasty, healthy recipes and meal plans for individuals (neat, I know). To learn more about how my recipes and meals can best serve you and your specific needs, schedule a 15-minute consultation with Mint Nutrition today.
